Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka in a wheelchair, hooked to feeding tube during surrender

Wrestling legend Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka is being charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the 1983 death of his girlfriend Nancy Argentino at an Allentown area motel.

When Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka arrived Tuesday at the Lehigh County Courthouse to surrender on charges he killed his girlfriend more than three decades ago, the pro wrestling legend was in a wheelchair and hooked to a feeding tube.

Accompanied by five relatives — including his current and first wives — and his lawyer, Snuka looked nothing like the muscled wild man known for standing on the top turnbuckle of the ring with arms raised as a stunned opponent lay on the mat waiting to be finished off with a "Superfly Splash."

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"He is not in good shape physically or mentally," said Snuka's attorney, William E. Moore of Lansdale. "I'm not sure he realized what was going on. I'm not sure what his cognitive abilities are."

Snuka, 72, was charged Tuesday with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the May 1983 beating of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, at a Whitehall Township motel, an investigation that was partly prompted by a Morning Call investigative story two years ago.

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While Moore said he will not represent the wrestler in his criminal case, he said whoever takes it over will focus on whether Snuka is competent to stand trial.

"I don't see it ever getting better," Moore said of Snuka's condition.

Moore said Snuka, who lives in Camden County, N.J., is recovering from stomach cancer surgery that has left him in need of daily care, and is also suffering from partial dementia from decades of head injuries.

"He's had head injuries — just like football players have had head injuries," Moore said. "He's suffered a number of concussions with all the antics he's done."

The Morning Call investigation raised questions about Argentino's death, revealing a never-before-seen autopsy report that labeled the case a homicide.

That autopsy determined that Argentino, 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., suffered 39 cuts and bruises all over her body and she died of traumatic brain injuries. The autopsy determined her injuries happened about 12 to 24 hours before she died, and the forensic pathologist at the time said a delay in getting her medical help affected the ability of the emergency room staff to save her life.

The case went to a Lehigh County grand jury, which determined that Snuka repeatedly assaulted her in the motel and then left her in bed to die, and he should face criminal homicide charges.

Snuka was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. He appeared but didn't testify.

Moore was with Snuka in the late spring of this year for the grand jury session and said his client asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, not because he was trying to hide anything but because he just didn't remember.

"His faculties are so compromised you wouldn't know what he's saying," Moore said. "He doesn't understand a simple conversation. You put him up against a sharp prosecutor asking, 'Remember 30 years ago when you said this ...,' he has no recollection."

Argentino had regularly traveled with Snuka on the pro wrestling circuit, but he was married at the time to Sharon Reiher Snuka, who lived with him and his four children in North Carolina.

On May 10, 1983, Snuka was at a taping of a then-World Wrestling Federation event at the Allentown Fairgrounds when he and pro wrestlers Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji returned to his motel room to find Argentino gasping for air and oozing yellow fluid from her mouth and nose, court records say.

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Paramedics arrived at the motel — now the site of a Home Depot — and found Snuka, a police officer and the wrestlers there, according to court records.

Argentino was unconscious, barely breathing and her dilated pupils and rapid heart rate indicated she had a head injury and was likely in shock, court records say. She was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital the next day.

In the autopsy report, the forensic pathologist at the time, Isidore Mihalakis, wrote that the case should be investigated as a homicide until proved otherwise. Coroner Scott Grim told the grand jury he agreed.

The grand jury proceedings that went from the spring into July included testimony and statements from 20 witnesses and county Detective Gerald Procanyn, who investigated the case in 1983 as a Whitehall police detective.

The grand jury also reviewed police reports, medical and autopsy evidence and statements Snuka made in media interviews and in a 2012 autobiography about what happened to Argentino. In addition, the grand jury looked at Snuka's history of domestic violence.

Moore said he is not familiar with the other evidence in the grand jury review, except the autobiography.

Lorraine Salome, Nancy's older sister, said the family had been shielding her mother from news of the investigation because of her age and poor health, but gave her the news of Snuka's arrest Tuesday.

"She was very happy," said Salome, of Manhattan.

Moore said he arrived for Snuka's surrender at the courthouse in Allentown around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Snuka was already there with his relatives, including his current wife, Carole Snuka, and his first wife, Sharon Georgi.

They met with Procanyn and Chief Deputy District Attorney Charles Gallagher, the special prosecutor assigned to review the case and who recommended it be sent to the grand jury.

Procanyn read Snuka his Miranda rights, but didn't handcuff him.

"Gerry was a complete gentleman," Moore said. "He did everything by the book. He made no statements, nothing to indicate any bad feelings."

Moore said Snuka was wheeled to Lehigh County Jail to be booked, a prison nurse holding his feeding tube above stomach level. Moore said a problem with the tube last week resulted in a hospital visit.

Georgi, who was named in the grand jury presentment as a victim of "a series of beatings" by Snuka in 1983 that resulted in her being hospitalized, posted the $100,000 bail for him.

Snuka was wheeled out of the jail around the time District Attorney Jim Martin was wrapping up a news conference to announce the arrest. It is the coldest case Martin has ever taken before a grand jury, and also the oldest one to result in charges in Lehigh County.

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Moore said he won't be taking Snuka's case because of a prior commitment. Snuka is scheduled to appear before District Judge Robert Halal in Whitehall on Sept. 21, but Moore expects that date to change because Snuka will need to get a new lawyer.

Since news of the charges, social media has been buzzing about Snuka's status as a WWE Hall of Famer.

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The Fiji Islands-born wrestler was inducted in pro wrestling's ring of honor in 1996. His profile appeared on the WWE website Wednesday, but has since been taken down. Snuka's contemporary, Hulk Hogan, also was wiped from the company's history books last month after he went on a racist rant that was caught on tape.

In a statement late Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the WWE said Snuka's "legends" contract to appear on TV or at promotional events on behalf of the company has been suspended, "and we are currently removing his images from our media platforms pending the outcome of this case."